Official TIDAL HiFi Streaming Users Thread

[jiminlogansquare]

Use this thread to report how TIDAL HiFi is working well for you. After some stumbles that occurred immediately after they opened the service up to the U.S. (a hypothetical overnight doubling or more of demand), and after all the hyperbolic complaints and outrage over the inevitable service issues that such a massive increase in demand most certainly caused for TIDAL HiFi, now is the time we subscribers can get down to business and really start understanding and experiencing all that this streaming service offers. I therefore am opening up this new thread for discussion of the positive and neutral, nuts and bolts functional issues associated with TIDAL HiFi. I respectfully ask that only those who are actually subscribed to TIDAL HiFi or are actively considering it post here. There is already a thread for bitching about your issues with TIDAL HiFi, and this ain't it.

[jiminlogansquare]

And in the spirit intended for this thread, I will post a first substantive reply to myself. I love that they have a whole bunch of Reference Recordings material, which sounds very good streaming in HiFi. I can compare much of this to my own collection of RR CDs, and it sounds pretty much on par to me.

[rodrigaj]

I use Tidal for the classical music selection. Some have criticized the selection, but I have found it to be fine. I am not a music critic, so when I read reviews about a particularly interesting performance, I go to Tidal to listen. For example, as we wind down 2014, many Music Blogs, publications, etc. are publishing the "Best of 2014". It would be very costly to download these recordings, only to realize that you will only listen once and forget them. Therein lies the value of Tidal to me: An infinite source of music to try.

 

DG restricts some of their selections, but Warner Classics, Decca, EMI, Sony do not.

 

My other big use of Tidal is for exploring modern classical music and 20th century composers as well as the younger soloist that are just emerging on the classical music scene. Infinite choices there since record companies want folks to hear these performers and performances. You will never find restrictions on those recordings.

 

For those that are having problems, I would recommend that you contact Tidal. For example, I had a recent blackout of a day and a half, let them know and I got a free week added to my subscription for the month. Not bad service.

[maelob]

I do the same about discovering new music- if I read a mag or an article with recommendations I use the service to listen. I have like 20 albums I want to listen right now. That's over 300 dollars easy. Also streaming in my car is fun.

[lightminer]

When I try to login the last few days it says "No connection to Server" and I can't login. iPhone app doesn't work either. Is anyone else unable to connect?

 

 

------> Figured it out. Some kind of trial period ended, and that is their signal for 'payment required'. They should have better messages so it is easier to figure out.

[bobbmd]

have 35 playlists on TIDAL, love their groups/playlists at top of page ie 'rip joe cocker' 'portland music scene' etc but no where near the selections of different artists covers etc found on Qobuz especially if you just search a name or genre or even a record label compared to Qobuz

I feel the sq is great for the most part Qobuz 'sounds better' sometime to my 67 yo ears this could be just the recordings they use

love TIDAL love Qobuz this a big enough place(country) for both and as long as my CFO ie spouse doesn't say anything about 20$/month for each who cares! I am sure TIDAL will improve monthly

use mac mini googlechrome apps usb via amarra sQ to schiit gungnir

[InfernoSTi]

I've got my Auralic Aries hooked up to my Auralic Vega DAC via digital coax and I've setup with TIDAL controlled by my iPad Mini. This is the best interface I've found for TIDAL. If feels just like using my regular music library. I still prefer my CAPS setup for playback of my music library so that is hooked up via USB and I can use the remote to switch between the two.

 

My latest favorite method is the bounce around this thread's 8,000+ albums of the evening and then search for the one that caught my eye on TIDAL and give it a listen.

 

I've really enjoyed this and I can "add to favorites" any albums I find that I really like.

 

Best,

John

[GTX]

love TIDAL love Qobuz this a big enough place(country) for both and as long as my CFO ie spouse doesn't say anything about 20$/month for each who cares! I am sure TIDAL will improve monthly

 

Hi and thanks for starting this thread. Like Bob I have both Tidal and Qobuz. I have done a couple of a/b test (same album/track) and they seem very much the same to me in term s of SQ.

 

However I noticed a difference:

- Qobuz streams at 16 bit, 44 kHz and between 500-1050 kb/s (as read by the Auralic Aries). The streaming speed changes wildly during the track

- Tidal streams at 16bit, 44 kHz and at constant speed of around 700-800 kb/s (it changes among tracks but completely stable within a track)

- none of the 2 streams at 1492 kb/s (unsure about the last 2 digits) which is the proper cd format.

 

Can anyone explain why? Does it have an impact on SQ? Anything that can be done to improve this?

 

I am using Auralic Aries in wireless mode as source, apple extreme AC router, devialet 250 (connected to the Aries via usb). PS/ I tried the Aries in wired mode (Ethernet) and the streaming speed of both Qobuz and tidal is unchanged.

[kumakuma]

Hi and thanks for starting this thread. Like Bob I have both Tidal and Qobuz. I have done a couple of a/b test (same album/track) and they seem very much the same to me in term s of SQ.

 

However I noticed a difference:

- Qobuz streams at 16 bit, 44 kHz and between 500-1050 kb/s (as read by the Auralic Aries). The streaming speed changes wildly during the track

- Tidal streams at 16bit, 44 kHz and at constant speed of around 700-800 kb/s (it changes among tracks but completely stable within a track)

- none of the 2 streams at 1492 kb/s (unsure about the last 2 digits) which is the proper cd format.

 

Can anyone explain why? Does it have an impact on SQ? Anything that can be done to improve this?

 

I think it's because they are streaming using a lossless compressed format such as FLAC rather than a uncompressed format such as AIFF/WAV.

[GTX]

Any impact on SQ? Is it fully comparable to the original CD format? Thanks

[kumakuma]

Any impact on SQ? Is it fully comparable to the original CD format? Thanks

 

It is essentially the same as the original CD. Some folks hear differences between compressed and uncompressed versions but I don't think that Qobuz/Tidal give you the option to stream uncompressed data so I wouldn't worry about it.

[keeper]

Hi and thanks for starting this thread. Like Bob I have both Tidal and Qobuz. I have done a couple of a/b test (same album/track) and they seem very much the same to me in term s of SQ.

 

However I noticed a difference:

- Qobuz streams at 16 bit, 44 kHz and between 500-1050 kb/s (as read by the Auralic Aries). The streaming speed changes wildly during the track

- Tidal streams at 16bit, 44 kHz and at constant speed of around 700-800 kb/s (it changes among tracks but completely stable within a track)

- none of the 2 streams at 1492 kb/s (unsure about the last 2 digits) which is the proper cd format.

 

Can anyone explain why? Does it have an impact on SQ? Anything that can be done to improve this?

 

I am using Auralic Aries in wireless mode as source, apple extreme AC router, devialet 250 (connected to the Aries via usb). PS/ I tried the Aries in wired mode (Ethernet) and the streaming speed of both Qobuz and tidal is unchanged.

 

Didn't Wang say its because they can't get the actual figures from Tidal but it will be in the next release?

[DanSmedra]

There is already a thread for bitching about your issues with TIDAL HiFi, and this ain't it.

 

Please include the link to the "bitching" thread. I'm a paying subscriber and will remain so in hopes they can fix what's broken and improve.

[jiminlogansquare]

It is titled "Official TIDAL HiFI Streaming Issues Thread." It was created by Chris in November 2014. Not sure how to post a link.

[InfernoSTi]

Please include the link to the "bitching" thread. I'm a paying subscriber and will remain so in hopes they can fix what's broken and improve.

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f22-networking-networked-audio-and-streaming/official-tidal-hifi-streaming-issues-thread-22260/

[Liam]

Just received notification from Tidal that the service is launching today in Ireland, Belgium, Luxenburg, Finland and Netherlands. Great news.

 

30 day email invitation trial received for early adopters, otherwise 7 days.

[krass]

Liam, did you receive a personal email for the 30 day trial or does this arrive after signing up on tidal.com ?

I'm in Holland so very interested in this development; thanks.

[Liam]

Liam, did you receive a personal email for the 30 day trial or does this arrive after signing up on tidal.com ?

I'm in Holland so very interested in this development; thanks.

 

Very sorry just saw your post now. Had I seen it earlier I could have forwarded the link to you for the 30 day trial, which was fine by them, but initially it was sent to those, like me who had signed up to be advised when the service was available. Unfortunately the take up for the 30 day trial finished at midnight last night.

 

This is the link https://go.tidalhifi.com/ie/reg/IE2001/ieHaa4N3d0RFa9I6s8EOr7S5eUUAreOsp5E30XdC489GE4NeGu1r/HIFI?utm_campaign=20150128-LastchanceEuropeanHandraisers&utm_content=control&utm_medium=email&utm_source=vero&utm_term=Newsletter&vero_conv=452140991&vero_id=obrien.mail%40gmail.com

[krass]

no probs, thanks for the follow-up anyway !

[Paul R]

Tidal has lost yet another CEO, again after only two months. Looks like the new owners do not play well with people from different cultures?

 

The company will be ran by executives in New York and Oslo while the search for yet another CEO proceeds.

 

Jay Z's music streaming service Tidal has lost another CEO - Business Insider

[realhifi]

Tidal has lost yet another CEO, again after only two months. Looks like the new owners do not play well with people from different cultures?

 

The company will be ran by executives in New York and Oslo while the search for yet another CEO proceeds.

 

Jay Z's music streaming service Tidal has lost another CEO - Business Insider

 

PS. Who can resist a video by Madona with cameos by the other "ladies" attached to Tidals investment group. Seriously?

 

What's more troubling are the comments about the troubles at Tidal.

 

Here's a link that shows a few comments after announcement: Tidal loses interim CEO Peter Tonstad on eve of Apple Music launch

 

Another : CEO of Jay Z

 

PS. Who can resist the video by Madona with cameos by the "ladies" invested in Tidal. Seriously?

[jiminlogansquare]

It is always easy to create a straw man and then dismantle that straw man. This is what is happening here. If TIDAL offered nothing more than the video of "Bitch I'm Madonna," then of course it would be worthless. But that is not all it offers. "Bitch I'm Madonna" is one item on a menu with literally millions of entries. Many hundreds of those entries happen to include up-to-the-minute updates of jazz and other genres that are not straw men. Every month I relish receiving the latest Downbeat so I can then go over to TIDAL and find half or more of the 4-star or more review albums available for immediate streaming. If you think TIDAL is just a vanity project for Madonna and her wealthy pop-music making friends, then you either do not actually subscribe to TIDAL or you have an enormous chip on your shoulder. Also, "Bitch I'm Madonna" is a very funny and self-aware video.

[Kelly]

Just finished listening to something on Tidal that might be more to their satisfaction. It was a featured new release.

 

 

I love Tidal but they are in a terrible position if their ambition is to be a major player in the streaming market. Spotify owns the market and Apple already has a whole lot of credit card numbers and AppleIDs to work with. That said, trying to compete with Spotify and Apple as just another streaming service would be impossible. If they can create a niche for themselves by offering videos like "Bitch I'm Modonna" then good for them. The only hope for me is that other streaming services, like Rhapsody, have managed to survive with only a tiny market share. Perhaps the overhead of such an operation really doesn't take that much infrastructure as long as you run efficiently. I'm hoping Tidal holds on, but the future looks bleak. It wouldn't surprise me if JayZ got bored and sold it for a huge loss.

[gldgate]

Would be a shame to lose Tidal. It's not perfect but it would be a blow to those looking for high quality streaming. I've been pleasantly suprised with the Roon/Tidal combo. Worth the $ on my end.

[silverarrows]

Tidal does have a few things to improve, but it's real challenge is the negative publicity and all the hate for Jay Z. Well known sites you don't expect manage to drop in curse words when publishing articles on Tidal. Jay Z purchased Tidal for only $56 million, ~1/10th of what Apple paid for Beats Music, so it's not a massive investment.